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Love and War in the Apennines
In 1942 Eric Newby, a member of the British Special Boat Section (SBS), was captured by enemy soldiers during an operation off the coast of Sicily. Held for over a year in a prisoner-of-war camp, Newby and his fellow prisoners took advantage of the Italian surrender in 1943 and escaped into the countryside. Newby would go on to be a celebrated travel writer with titles such as A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, but this book – a funny and moving tribute to the people of rural Italy who helped him survive – is perhaps his most personal and most poignant.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
104 people are currently reading
2038 people want to read
About the author
Eric Newby
41 books171 followersGeorge Eric Newby CBE MC (December 6, 1919 – October 20, 2006) was an English author of travel literature.
Newby was born and grew up near Hammersmith Bridge, London, and was educated at St Paul's School. His father was a partner in a firm of wholesale dressmakers but he also harboured dreams of escape, running away to sea as a child before being captured at Millwall. Owing to his father's frequent financial crises and his own failure to pass algebra, Newby was taken away from school at sixteen and put to work as an office boy in the Dorland advertising agency on Regent Street, where he spent most of his time cycling around the office admiring the typists' legs. Fortunately, the agency lost the Kellogg's account and he apprenticed aboard the Finnish windjammer Moshulu in 1938, sailing in what Newby entitled The Last Grain Race (1956) from Europe to Australia and back by way of Cape Horn (his journey was also pictorially documented in Learning the Ropes). In fact, two more grain races followed the 1939 race in which Newby participated, with the last race being held in 1949.
Newby was born and grew up near Hammersmith Bridge, London, and was educated at St Paul's School. His father was a partner in a firm of wholesale dressmakers but he also harboured dreams of escape, running away to sea as a child before being captured at Millwall. Owing to his father's frequent financial crises and his own failure to pass algebra, Newby was taken away from school at sixteen and put to work as an office boy in the Dorland advertising agency on Regent Street, where he spent most of his time cycling around the office admiring the typists' legs. Fortunately, the agency lost the Kellogg's account and he apprenticed aboard the Finnish windjammer Moshulu in 1938, sailing in what Newby entitled The Last Grain Race (1956) from Europe to Australia and back by way of Cape Horn (his journey was also pictorially documented in Learning the Ropes). In fact, two more grain races followed the 1939 race in which Newby participated, with the last race being held in 1949.
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February 28, 2021
Like most of Eric Newby's writing, this book is excellent. It is his story after the Italian Armistice when POWs were released into the local area. Newby had been captured in a failed raid with the SBS, and by bad luck had broken his ankle a few days before release.
More than anything the story he tells is of the generosity of the local Italians who assisted Newby, and other POWs, sheltering them, providing food and drink, assisting them in moving from place to place, always at great risk to themselves. The German army were active nearby, searching for the escaped POWs, and the Fascists had soon regrouped and were threatening death to those who were aiding the allies.
In his story, aided throughout by Wanda, his future wife, Newby is forced to move to more and more remote locations in the Apennine Mountains. From hiding he goes to working clearing rocks in a field in order that he can provide some return to the poor farmers he lives with. However, as the danger increases for those assisting him, he must move further, staying for a time at the high altitude camp of a shepherd, bore two local families band together and build him a place to stay by himself. Of course they must return almost daily with food.
Newbys freedom ends when he is finally recaptured, this time by the Germans, but his book ends with an epilogue in which he returns to meet some of those who he spent time with, some twelve years later. It is a real triumph for the human race that events such as this happen.
As always Newby writes in an incredibly engaging way. Even when he is of on a random tangent, the writing is so enjoyable that the strange nature of his topic doesn't matter. He writes honestly and realistically, not making himself the centre of the story, but quite rightly, those risking much more to help a stranger.
Five stars.
More than anything the story he tells is of the generosity of the local Italians who assisted Newby, and other POWs, sheltering them, providing food and drink, assisting them in moving from place to place, always at great risk to themselves. The German army were active nearby, searching for the escaped POWs, and the Fascists had soon regrouped and were threatening death to those who were aiding the allies.
In his story, aided throughout by Wanda, his future wife, Newby is forced to move to more and more remote locations in the Apennine Mountains. From hiding he goes to working clearing rocks in a field in order that he can provide some return to the poor farmers he lives with. However, as the danger increases for those assisting him, he must move further, staying for a time at the high altitude camp of a shepherd, bore two local families band together and build him a place to stay by himself. Of course they must return almost daily with food.
Newbys freedom ends when he is finally recaptured, this time by the Germans, but his book ends with an epilogue in which he returns to meet some of those who he spent time with, some twelve years later. It is a real triumph for the human race that events such as this happen.
As always Newby writes in an incredibly engaging way. Even when he is of on a random tangent, the writing is so enjoyable that the strange nature of his topic doesn't matter. He writes honestly and realistically, not making himself the centre of the story, but quite rightly, those risking much more to help a stranger.
Five stars.
December 19, 2024
Escaped P.O.W., Eric Newby, hides out from German soldiers and fascist sympathisers in the Apennine Mountains of Italy in this true story of Second World War romance and adventure. As you scramble and trek through the wild scenery with this sensitive fugitive (and later accomplished travel writer), the eccentric Italian peasants, alfresco meals and love-interest with Wanda, his Resistance helper, are evoked as vividly as if it all happened yesterday. A charming and absorbing read.
By this reviewer:
By this reviewer:
May 29, 2017
Eric Newby was captured during a failed raid on a Sicilian air base in 1942 and spent time in a POW camp. This memoir tells the story of his captivity, his escape and the subsequent period that he spent hiding in the inhospitable terrain around the village of Fontellanato. For several months, he was sheltered and fed by local people, despite their fear of the German army and the scarcity of their own resources.
Amazing story of courage, resilience and human kindness. Newby's style is quite matter of fact, and sprinkled with a lot of humour, but there is no mistaking the danger he was in, and the physical hardships that he had to endure. He clearly describes the everyday life of the villagers, the mountain tracks and woods of the area, the huts and hay lofts where he has to hide, so that the setting and the period really come to life. He is grateful for all the help he received and respectful even towards those who refused to help, appreciating the difficulties they faced.
Fascinating slice of history, giving a unique and personal perspective on WWII.
Amazing story of courage, resilience and human kindness. Newby's style is quite matter of fact, and sprinkled with a lot of humour, but there is no mistaking the danger he was in, and the physical hardships that he had to endure. He clearly describes the everyday life of the villagers, the mountain tracks and woods of the area, the huts and hay lofts where he has to hide, so that the setting and the period really come to life. He is grateful for all the help he received and respectful even towards those who refused to help, appreciating the difficulties they faced.
Fascinating slice of history, giving a unique and personal perspective on WWII.
August 20, 2022
I was interested to read this book as my grandfather was in the Special Boat Service (SBS) during WWII and had been in Sicily. That's all I knew. Like many other men from that era who had survived war, he would never talk about it.
However, this book is not quite as I expected and I found I was skimming a lot due to not really being engaged by the writing. Eric Newby waited twenty-eight years to write this book and was finally motivated because he "felt that comparatively little had been written about the ordinary Italian people who helped prisoners of war at great personal risk and without thought of personal gain, purely out of kindness of heart."
Newby writes about the Italian army being in dire need of food and remarks that in Britain there were organizations that worked together to support the troops. In contrast, in Italy, there were "no volunteer ladies dishing out fish and chips to them, and great squelchy, jam sandwiches, and cups of orange-colored tea, and, saying "Hello" and asking where they came from, making them feel that they were doing something worthwhile which somebody cared about." For me, this was probably the highlight of my reading experience along with the description of the clothing that the prisoners were wearing.
The prisoners were allowed to keep the clothes they were already wearing. "They had pig's-whisker pullovers, scarves and stocks from Burlington Arcade secured with gold pins, made-to-measure Viyella shirts, and corduroy trousers, and those who were members of the Cherry-Pickers wore cherry-red trousers." I felt a bit removed from it all, as if it were quite surreal.
However, this book is not quite as I expected and I found I was skimming a lot due to not really being engaged by the writing. Eric Newby waited twenty-eight years to write this book and was finally motivated because he "felt that comparatively little had been written about the ordinary Italian people who helped prisoners of war at great personal risk and without thought of personal gain, purely out of kindness of heart."
Newby writes about the Italian army being in dire need of food and remarks that in Britain there were organizations that worked together to support the troops. In contrast, in Italy, there were "no volunteer ladies dishing out fish and chips to them, and great squelchy, jam sandwiches, and cups of orange-colored tea, and, saying "Hello" and asking where they came from, making them feel that they were doing something worthwhile which somebody cared about." For me, this was probably the highlight of my reading experience along with the description of the clothing that the prisoners were wearing.
The prisoners were allowed to keep the clothes they were already wearing. "They had pig's-whisker pullovers, scarves and stocks from Burlington Arcade secured with gold pins, made-to-measure Viyella shirts, and corduroy trousers, and those who were members of the Cherry-Pickers wore cherry-red trousers." I felt a bit removed from it all, as if it were quite surreal.
January 7, 2019
I wish I could give this classic more than 5 stars. I’ve just read it for the second time since I bought it in 1976. All these years later, it makes sense, now that I live in a similar area in the Tuscan Apennines that he describes so beautifully.
Anybody with the slightest interest of WW2 in Italy should read this book. It’s autobiographical. Eric Newby, at the tender age of 22 was an escaped POW and his account shows how truly generous and courageous ordinary Italians were to young British men. They reasoned their own sons were far away, fighting, and it was their duty to help other people’s sons. Despite their own difficulties in procuring food, and with the threat of execution if they were discovered harbouring POWs, they went to great lengths to look after Eric and others. This happened up and down the length of Italy and after the war, the British government was rather pathetic in the way they recognised these acts. In his Epilogue, Newby writes: “As is usual when official attempts are made to repay something with cash which was given freely at the tie out of kindness of heart, a great deal of ill-will was created in this case by the Treasury, or whoever held the purse-strings, who decreed that any money that was disbursed to these people in 1946 should be at the old, pre-Armistice rate of exchange… which by now was absolutely nothing.” Shame!
Anyway – back to the book. Despite the background of war and death, Newby writes with such humour that I laughed out loud frequently. The personalities he describes, the places where he slept, the scenery, the Italian temperament and the predicaments he found himself in – is all spot on. I loved it. It is also a love story. He met his lovely wife during his escape.I slowed down at the end of the book because I didn’t want it to end. There is also interesting insight into the mind of a young man who feels guilty at times about not being in the thick of war, and we know now that they were (unfairly) given the description of “D-Day dodgers” by many. But, read the book for yourselves and make up your own minds. What would you have done in this situation?
I walk in the Apennines south east of where Newby hid, and this terrain is very similar. There are ruins scattered all over the place and now when I gaze on the crumbling stones, choked in ivy and brambles I will picture what they looked like inside and wonder if a POW was harboured somewhere nearby.
Eric Newby has written several books. He died at the age of 86 in 2006. How I wished I could have met him in real life and chatted to him, glass of wine in hand. RIP and many thanks for this masterpiece.
Anybody with the slightest interest of WW2 in Italy should read this book. It’s autobiographical. Eric Newby, at the tender age of 22 was an escaped POW and his account shows how truly generous and courageous ordinary Italians were to young British men. They reasoned their own sons were far away, fighting, and it was their duty to help other people’s sons. Despite their own difficulties in procuring food, and with the threat of execution if they were discovered harbouring POWs, they went to great lengths to look after Eric and others. This happened up and down the length of Italy and after the war, the British government was rather pathetic in the way they recognised these acts. In his Epilogue, Newby writes: “As is usual when official attempts are made to repay something with cash which was given freely at the tie out of kindness of heart, a great deal of ill-will was created in this case by the Treasury, or whoever held the purse-strings, who decreed that any money that was disbursed to these people in 1946 should be at the old, pre-Armistice rate of exchange… which by now was absolutely nothing.” Shame!
Anyway – back to the book. Despite the background of war and death, Newby writes with such humour that I laughed out loud frequently. The personalities he describes, the places where he slept, the scenery, the Italian temperament and the predicaments he found himself in – is all spot on. I loved it. It is also a love story. He met his lovely wife during his escape.I slowed down at the end of the book because I didn’t want it to end. There is also interesting insight into the mind of a young man who feels guilty at times about not being in the thick of war, and we know now that they were (unfairly) given the description of “D-Day dodgers” by many. But, read the book for yourselves and make up your own minds. What would you have done in this situation?
I walk in the Apennines south east of where Newby hid, and this terrain is very similar. There are ruins scattered all over the place and now when I gaze on the crumbling stones, choked in ivy and brambles I will picture what they looked like inside and wonder if a POW was harboured somewhere nearby.
Eric Newby has written several books. He died at the age of 86 in 2006. How I wished I could have met him in real life and chatted to him, glass of wine in hand. RIP and many thanks for this masterpiece.
March 23, 2020
47th book of 2020.
I've always struggled with memoirs. Recently, in my MA a woman sent me her work to read (a memoir) and I told her frankly that on the most part, I don't enjoy memoirs. They are too self-indulgent, the writing (in my experience) never seems as good as fiction...I'm thinking specifically of Educated, which everyone seemed to love, but I thought was, well, terrible. It is difficult when talking about a real person and their real life, but I found the voice whiny, irritating and the writing was poor. That's not to belittle the things she went through, just the way she tells them.
Anyway, enough of ranting. This has been a long-winded way of saying, Newby has impressed me. Set in Italy during the War, his capture, and subsequent escape, Newby has written a compelling novel. His voice is perfectly balanced. In fact, I got the impression that he rarely used the word 'I', though he probably did. A large portion of the novel is spent describing Italy in a travel-writing fashion, and the characters he meets. The moments where Newby does talk, I like him. I think he would have been great to have a cup of tea with: witty, sensitive, the old style English gentleman. The writing was brilliant and his journey, though real, was fantastic to read.
The one thing I want to say - the title is terrible. I don't Newby helped himself very much. If someone hadn't recommended it, I would never read a book that begins with Love and War. There isn't a awful lot of love in this at all. There is certainly War in the backdrop, and the beginning and end. The title doesn't do the book justice, I don't think. Here are some quotes to capture Newby's voice and his writing.
Mostly they were cowardly spies whose legs gave way under them, so that they had to be carried, shrieking, to the place of execution and tied to stakes to prevent them sinking to the ground, and although I hoped that I wouldn't be like this, I wondered if I would be.
He was the one who proposed that we should dig a tunnel, the most dreary and unimaginative way of getting out of any prison.
Like most men he didn't like his wife to come up with the ideas he felt he ought to have had himself.
It was very dark, the water was surprisingly cold and I was very frightened, more frightened than I had ever been. What upset me more than anything, quite irrationally, was the thought that if we drowned - which seemed more than probable - none of our people would ever know what happened to us and why.
I've always struggled with memoirs. Recently, in my MA a woman sent me her work to read (a memoir) and I told her frankly that on the most part, I don't enjoy memoirs. They are too self-indulgent, the writing (in my experience) never seems as good as fiction...I'm thinking specifically of Educated, which everyone seemed to love, but I thought was, well, terrible. It is difficult when talking about a real person and their real life, but I found the voice whiny, irritating and the writing was poor. That's not to belittle the things she went through, just the way she tells them.
Anyway, enough of ranting. This has been a long-winded way of saying, Newby has impressed me. Set in Italy during the War, his capture, and subsequent escape, Newby has written a compelling novel. His voice is perfectly balanced. In fact, I got the impression that he rarely used the word 'I', though he probably did. A large portion of the novel is spent describing Italy in a travel-writing fashion, and the characters he meets. The moments where Newby does talk, I like him. I think he would have been great to have a cup of tea with: witty, sensitive, the old style English gentleman. The writing was brilliant and his journey, though real, was fantastic to read.
The one thing I want to say - the title is terrible. I don't Newby helped himself very much. If someone hadn't recommended it, I would never read a book that begins with Love and War. There isn't a awful lot of love in this at all. There is certainly War in the backdrop, and the beginning and end. The title doesn't do the book justice, I don't think. Here are some quotes to capture Newby's voice and his writing.
Mostly they were cowardly spies whose legs gave way under them, so that they had to be carried, shrieking, to the place of execution and tied to stakes to prevent them sinking to the ground, and although I hoped that I wouldn't be like this, I wondered if I would be.
He was the one who proposed that we should dig a tunnel, the most dreary and unimaginative way of getting out of any prison.
Like most men he didn't like his wife to come up with the ideas he felt he ought to have had himself.
It was very dark, the water was surprisingly cold and I was very frightened, more frightened than I had ever been. What upset me more than anything, quite irrationally, was the thought that if we drowned - which seemed more than probable - none of our people would ever know what happened to us and why.
June 28, 2008
This is an extraordinary account of Eric Newby's survival as a prisoner of War in Italy during World War II. More importantly it is the story of the heroic generosity of the Italian peasants who secretly, and at great personal risk, sheltered the released prisoners after the armistice in 1943, but before the end of the war. The Germans were still fighting the allies in Italy and the Fascists declared death for anyone who aided former POWs. It is also a a story of a time and a sensibility so removed from our own that one wonders if we are better or worse for all our vaunted technology.
Th is an amazing story told with humor and a complete lack of self pity.
Th is an amazing story told with humor and a complete lack of self pity.
not-for-me
April 27, 2020The font is minuscule!!! My sweet husband will read it instead and give me updates.
Now available on audio! :0)
******************
*Love and War in the Apennines not-for -me
*A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush not-for -me
*Slowly Down the Ganges 1 star DNF
Now available on audio! :0)
******************
*Love and War in the Apennines not-for -me
*A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush not-for -me
*Slowly Down the Ganges 1 star DNF
May 16, 2019
אי שם מתוך הנבכים המעורפלים יותר של ילדותי, נצנץ אלי זכרו של ספר ששאלתי בספריה ועשה עלי רושם גדול בזמנו – "חיות הבר אשר ידעתי". כמובן שכיום עם המצאת צוללת המעמקים הזאת הקרויה אינטרנט נדמה שניתן, בעזרת מעט מוטיבציה וכישרון חיפוש מינימאלי לאתר ולשלות מן המצולות האלה כל דבר שחשבנו שנשמט לנצח מזכרוננו.
מחוץ לטקסט המלא של הספר הנ"ל (שכיו�� הוא נחלת הכלל) הגעתי לפני מספר שנים בחיפושי גם אל רשימת ספרים מומלצים שהופיע בה. מאז ילדותי (בה כמעט כל ספר היה נדמה כחלק מסדרת ספרים) אני אוהב רשימות ספרים – כאלו המופיעות לפעמים בסופי הכותרים המודפסים, או כאלו שקיבצו ממליצים שונים (10 ספרים שפלוני אהב במיוחד, 100 ספרים שצריכים להספיק עד גיל 18, 5 ספרים נוספים על ערפדים תת ימיים וכו...) הרשימה הזאת הייתה מעניינת במיוחד מכיוון ששילבה בתוכה אשליה נוספת שלוקים בה חובבי קריאה וכנראה כל מנויי goodreads – חדוות גילוי אוצרות שכוחים.
מדובר בספר A Reader’s Delight שיצא לאור בשנת 1988 ומאגד בתוכו ביקורות ספרים שפרסם נואל פרין בוושינגטון-פוסט. פרין יצא מן ההנחה הסבירה שישנם יצירות שלא זכו מסיבות כאלו או אחרות למעמד של קלאסיקות (דהיינו נשכחו ואולי אזלו מן הדפוס – מדובר בשנות השמונים הרי) אך שאינן גרועות ואפילו מהנות מאוד לקריאה. הכלל המנחה של בחירת היצירות (חוץ מן העובדה שגרמו לפרין הנאה בקריאתן) היה שלא יותר משניים מעמיתיו הספרותיים אכן הכיר את היצירות. כל זה לא אומר הרבה. אין סיבה להעדיף דווקא את בחירותיו של פרין וגם טעם ספרותי משתנה עם השנים, ובכל זאת זה מעורר עניין.
גם ספרו של פרין כבר מזמן אזל. למזלנו גוגל סורקת ספרים ומבחר מן הביקורות ניתן לקרוא בgoogle books. כמו כן ניתן למצוא את רשימת הספרים המלאה באתר הנהדר (אך הלא מתוחזק) neglectedbooks.com http://neglectedbooks.com/?page_id=74, שספרו של פרין מתאים לו במיוחד.
עם השנים דגמתי כמה מן הספרים שהופיעו ברשימה. חלקם באמת יפים וחלקם רק נחמדים. בין השאר הופיעה בספרו של פרין ביקורת על הספר When the Snow Comes, They Will Take You Away מאת סופר המסעות וההרפתקן הבריטי אריק ניובי. חיפוש נוסף העלה שזהו שמו האמריקאי של הספר והוא פורסם באנגליה בשם מוצלח פחות - Love and War in the Apennines. ניצלתי מכירה מוזלת של עותק של folio ורכשתי אותו.
ניובי התפרסם בעיקר בזכות ספרי המסעות שלו והוא חלק ממסורת מכובדת של סופרי מסעות בריטים. בדומה לסופר בריטי ידוע אחר – פטריק ליי פרמור, גם ניובי לקח חלק במלחמת העולם השנייה כלוחם בכוחות הבריטיים המיוחדים. הספר שלפנינו (לפני לפחות) עוסק לא במסעותיו כהרפתקן אלא במסעותיו הכפויים כאיש הקומנדו הימי הבריטי במלחמה. הספר פותח בתיאור משימת חבלה כושלת שניובי היה חלק ממנה, ממשיך בתיאור קורותיו במחנה שבויים באיטליה ובמיוחד מתמקד בקורותיו לאחר ש"נמלט" ממנו. למעשה שוחררו האסירים לאחר הדחתו של מוסוליני אך הפכו עד מהרה לניצודים לאחר שהפשיסטים חזרו ותפסו את השלטון הפעם כשליחים ישירים של גרמניה הנאצית שואפת הנקם על בגידת איטליה שחתמה על הסכם שביתת נשק עם בנות הברית.
בסיועם של אנטי-פאשיסטים ואיכרים איטלקים פשוטים הצליח ניובי להסתתר ולשרוד כשנה בהרי האפנינים עד שנלכד בידי הגרמנים והפשיסטים והועבר למחנה שבויים בצ'כוסלובקיה. על הדרך גם מצא אהבה – נערה בשם וונדה, שלימים תהפוך להיות אשתו.
תמצאו כאן סיפור יפה (אם כי קראתי ושמעתי כבר מדהימים ומעניינים ממנו בהרבה). ניובי הוא מספר מוכשר ולא בלתי מתוחכם שמצליח להעיר גם תקופות המתנה משעממות בצורה משעשעת. כתיבתו מלאה פיתולים, אנקדוטות ואלוזיות, במיוחד לעולם הספרות (כל דמות מזכירה לו דמות מספר ...) וכמו כל בריטי הוא מצויד במנות עודפות של חוש הומור וסרקזם. כפי שמצוין בהקדמה, ניובי אינו מצייר את עצמו כגיבור. למעשה ההפך הוא הנכון. למן הפשיטה הכושלת ועד ללכידתו מצטייר ניובי הצעיר כלא יוצלח ואף כתמים וזאת למרות תעוזת הנעורים שללא ספק ניחן בה. הספר אינו כתוב בצורה נאיבית (חלק מהסייענים האיטלקים שלמו בחייהם על הסיוע לשבויי המלחמה) אך גם אינו נעדר הילה נוסטלגית מסוימת. הוא הזכיר לי במשהו את כתביו של הוטרינר ג'יימס הריוט.
זו אינה יצירת מופת אך גם לא סבלתי. עוד סיפור חיים (שגם עובד לסרט אותו לא ראיתי) המסופר בכישרון.
מחוץ לטקסט המלא של הספר הנ"ל (שכיו�� הוא נחלת הכלל) הגעתי לפני מספר שנים בחיפושי גם אל רשימת ספרים מומלצים שהופיע בה. מאז ילדותי (בה כמעט כל ספר היה נדמה כחלק מסדרת ספרים) אני אוהב רשימות ספרים – כאלו המופיעות לפעמים בסופי הכותרים המודפסים, או כאלו שקיבצו ממליצים שונים (10 ספרים שפלוני אהב במיוחד, 100 ספרים שצריכים להספיק עד גיל 18, 5 ספרים נוספים על ערפדים תת ימיים וכו...) הרשימה הזאת הייתה מעניינת במיוחד מכיוון ששילבה בתוכה אשליה נוספת שלוקים בה חובבי קריאה וכנראה כל מנויי goodreads – חדוות גילוי אוצרות שכוחים.
מדובר בספר A Reader’s Delight שיצא לאור בשנת 1988 ומאגד בתוכו ביקורות ספרים שפרסם נואל פרין בוושינגטון-פוסט. פרין יצא מן ההנחה הסבירה שישנם יצירות שלא זכו מסיבות כאלו או אחרות למעמד של קלאסיקות (דהיינו נשכחו ואולי אזלו מן הדפוס – מדובר בשנות השמונים הרי) אך שאינן גרועות ואפילו מהנות מאוד לקריאה. הכלל המנחה של בחירת היצירות (חוץ מן העובדה שגרמו לפרין הנאה בקריאתן) היה שלא יותר משניים מעמיתיו הספרותיים אכן הכיר את היצירות. כל זה לא אומר הרבה. אין סיבה להעדיף דווקא את בחירותיו של פרין וגם טעם ספרותי משתנה עם השנים, ובכל זאת זה מעורר עניין.
גם ספרו של פרין כבר מזמן אזל. למזלנו גוגל סורקת ספרים ומבחר מן הביקורות ניתן לקרוא בgoogle books. כמו כן ניתן למצוא את רשימת הספרים המלאה באתר הנהדר (אך הלא מתוחזק) neglectedbooks.com http://neglectedbooks.com/?page_id=74, שספרו של פרין מתאים לו במיוחד.
עם השנים דגמתי כמה מן הספרים שהופיעו ברשימה. חלקם באמת יפים וחלקם רק נחמדים. בין השאר הופיעה בספרו של פרין ביקורת על הספר When the Snow Comes, They Will Take You Away מאת סופר המסעות וההרפתקן הבריטי אריק ניובי. חיפוש נוסף העלה שזהו שמו האמריקאי של הספר והוא פורסם באנגליה בשם מוצלח פחות - Love and War in the Apennines. ניצלתי מכירה מוזלת של עותק של folio ורכשתי אותו.
ניובי התפרסם בעיקר בזכות ספרי המסעות שלו והוא חלק ממסורת מכובדת של סופרי מסעות בריטים. בדומה לסופר בריטי ידוע אחר – פטריק ליי פרמור, גם ניובי לקח חלק במלחמת העולם השנייה כלוחם בכוחות הבריטיים המיוחדים. הספר שלפנינו (לפני לפחות) עוסק לא במסעותיו כהרפתקן אלא במסעותיו הכפויים כאיש הקומנדו הימי הבריטי במלחמה. הספר פותח בתיאור משימת חבלה כושלת שניובי היה חלק ממנה, ממשיך בתיאור קורותיו במחנה שבויים באיטליה ובמיוחד מתמקד בקורותיו לאחר ש"נמלט" ממנו. למעשה שוחררו האסירים לאחר הדחתו של מוסוליני אך הפכו עד מהרה לניצודים לאחר שהפשיסטים חזרו ותפסו את השלטון הפעם כשליחים ישירים של גרמניה הנאצית שואפת הנקם על בגידת איטליה שחתמה על הסכם שביתת נשק עם בנות הברית.
בסיועם של אנטי-פאשיסטים ואיכרים איטלקים פשוטים הצליח ניובי להסתתר ולשרוד כשנה בהרי האפנינים עד שנלכד בידי הגרמנים והפשיסטים והועבר למחנה שבויים בצ'כוסלובקיה. על הדרך גם מצא אהבה – נערה בשם וונדה, שלימים תהפוך להיות אשתו.
תמצאו כאן סיפור יפה (אם כי קראתי ושמעתי כבר מדהימים ומעניינים ממנו בהרבה). ניובי הוא מספר מוכשר ולא בלתי מתוחכם שמצליח להעיר גם תקופות המתנה משעממות בצורה משעשעת. כתיבתו מלאה פיתולים, אנקדוטות ואלוזיות, במיוחד לעולם הספרות (כל דמות מזכירה לו דמות מספר ...) וכמו כל בריטי הוא מצויד במנות עודפות של חוש הומור וסרקזם. כפי שמצוין בהקדמה, ניובי אינו מצייר את עצמו כגיבור. למעשה ההפך הוא הנכון. למן הפשיטה הכושלת ועד ללכידתו מצטייר ניובי הצעיר כלא יוצלח ואף כתמים וזאת למרות תעוזת הנעורים שללא ספק ניחן בה. הספר אינו כתוב בצורה נאיבית (חלק מהסייענים האיטלקים שלמו בחייהם על הסיוע לשבויי המלחמה) אך גם אינו נעדר הילה נוסטלגית מסוימת. הוא הזכיר לי במשהו את כתביו של הוטרינר ג'יימס הריוט.
זו אינה יצירת מופת אך גם לא סבלתי. עוד סיפור חיים (שגם עובד לסרט אותו לא ראיתי) המסופר בכישרון.
February 4, 2017
A heart warming tale of generosity shown to the author in Italy in WW2 as an escaped POW. Those offering help risked death if caught but that didn't deter them. At the beginning he is captured in a daring raid on Sicily. Taken to the mainland, he recounts the rather comical attempts of the Italian guards to deal with their prisoners. Once free he is moved from place to place to evade capture by the Germans, giving a fascinating insight into life in rural Italy back then. My only criticism is how abruptly the book ends with much of his story untold.
June 28, 2018
Absolutely amazing. Told brilliantly, Eric Newby brings every moment to life, taking you right there into the Italian mountains during the last few years of the war. It's incredible how brave and selfless the local people that Eric encountered were, not thinking twice before helping him and others escape and evade the occupying Germans and fascist militias. Eye-opening, awe-inspiring, fascinating. So so glad I read this book.
June 16, 2019
I've liked Newby before, but in this the writing was surprisingly bad. (Just one example: ten "and"s and two pages into a sentence, maybe it is time to start a new one?) The story is also not exceptional. Still, Newby is honest. The story picks up when he gets into dialog, and there are several humorous anecdotes, including meeting a German soldier hunting butterflies in the mountains.
> "Do not be afraid," he went on. "I will not tell anyone that I have met you, I have no intention of spoiling such a splendid day either for you or for myself. They are too rare." … None of them had ever heard of butterfly hunting, or laid eyes on a butterfly hunter, so that when he asked a man and his wife who were on their way to attend mass in the village, for by this time there was no one else in sight to ask in his painstaking Italian what was the best way to the top of the mountain, they thought he must be a lunatic to want to go fishing on the top of a mountain which was over four and a half thousand feet high.
> "Do not be afraid," he went on. "I will not tell anyone that I have met you, I have no intention of spoiling such a splendid day either for you or for myself. They are too rare." … None of them had ever heard of butterfly hunting, or laid eyes on a butterfly hunter, so that when he asked a man and his wife who were on their way to attend mass in the village, for by this time there was no one else in sight to ask in his painstaking Italian what was the best way to the top of the mountain, they thought he must be a lunatic to want to go fishing on the top of a mountain which was over four and a half thousand feet high.
January 10, 2015
This true story captures a time, a place and its people perfectly. Set in Italy near the end of WWII, Eric Newby is captured by the Italians during a raid in Sicily, but is later released when they turn against the Nazis. Relying on his wits and the help of charismatic locals, he retreats to ever more remote locations in the Appenine Mountains to evade the advancing German military. The tranquility of his surroundings and selfless generosity of the people, always described beautifully, sit in stark contrast to the backdrop of the war that is raging in Europe at the time. One of Newby’s best books in my opinion.
Luke F. D. Marsden (author of Wondering, the Way is Made)
Luke F. D. Marsden (author of Wondering, the Way is Made)
May 19, 2022
This was an excellent read. Well written and atmospheric; at times almost confessional. It was easy to become immersed in Eric Newby's reminiscences about his WW II experiences as an escaped POW - housed and protected by farmers, shepherds and craftsmen along with their wives and children in the Appennine mountains of Italy during the Fall and early winter of 1943. This was the 3rd book I've read by Newby and the one I most enjoyed. The others were; A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush and The Last Grain Race.
August 14, 2007
This unpretentious but genuinely marvelous account of Eric Newby's harrowing months in the mountains of Italy in 1943 is one of the best books I've read all summer. Newby's style is dry, self-deprecating, and unexpectedly moving – especially when he writes about the remote farmers and villagers who sheltered him at the risk of their lives. This book was his way of thanking them, and it does justice to them all.
August 11, 2021
The inspiring story of Eric Newby’s experiences as an escaped POW in Italy during WWII and the kindness and selflessness of the Italian country people who risked death to feed, clothe and protect him.
Surviving in the unforgiving mountainous terrain during the onset of winter was no easy matter, and Newby does not romanticise either himself or his predicament. This is no Boy’s Own tale of derring-do, but the story of a young man of 22, often frightened, questioning his own motives and strength of character and feeling intense guilt at times at the lengths to which his various hosts go to save him. Newby’s self-deprecating humour lifts the tone, which would otherwise be overly morose in places.
The book reads almost like fiction. Indeed, some of the things that happen to Newby are stranger than fiction. Generally, his writing style is easy and page-turning. Sometimes, though, over-long sentences with multiple clauses seem like self-indulgence. This is particularly the case in the first part, where he describes his time in an Italian POW camp in Fontanellato.
My other gripe is the abruptness of the ending. I levelled the same criticism at his ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’.
Those quibbles aside, this is essential reading for anyone interested in life in WWII rural Italy.
Surviving in the unforgiving mountainous terrain during the onset of winter was no easy matter, and Newby does not romanticise either himself or his predicament. This is no Boy’s Own tale of derring-do, but the story of a young man of 22, often frightened, questioning his own motives and strength of character and feeling intense guilt at times at the lengths to which his various hosts go to save him. Newby’s self-deprecating humour lifts the tone, which would otherwise be overly morose in places.
The book reads almost like fiction. Indeed, some of the things that happen to Newby are stranger than fiction. Generally, his writing style is easy and page-turning. Sometimes, though, over-long sentences with multiple clauses seem like self-indulgence. This is particularly the case in the first part, where he describes his time in an Italian POW camp in Fontanellato.
My other gripe is the abruptness of the ending. I levelled the same criticism at his ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’.
Those quibbles aside, this is essential reading for anyone interested in life in WWII rural Italy.
October 17, 2025
So great. Slow start but quickly becomes very funny and then it made me cry. Eric Newby has such a dry sense of humor about everything.
March 25, 2021
A wonderfully inspiring story. During WW2 when Italy was occupied the Italian POW camps broke down and he escaped and was hidden successfully for several months during which time he met his future wife. This is a story of immense bravery, not from the author but from the Italian people who sheltered him and many other allied soldiers all at great personal risk.
November 27, 2025
Newby beautifully balances the sardonic voice of his youth with the soft recollections brought by middle age. I hope to read his wife’s perspective of these same events, and meet more of the colorful, benevolent network that kept him and others alive through the end of the war.
March 1, 2015
I first read this book 20 years ago, and I knew I would want to read it again. Having just done so, I can say that it was every bit as good the second time around as it was the first.
Newby was a young POW in Italy during WWII. He was able to escape in 1943 while hospitalized for a broken ankle. With the help of sympathetic locals, one of whom was later to become his wife, he spent a year in hiding, being recaptured only late in 1944.
Newby tells his story with a charming, self-deprecating humor that emphasizes how inept he was at the time, how unprepared he was for the rigors of life as a fugitive. The worst that would befall him if recaptured, however, was a return to some POW camp. His constant concern was for the welfare of the many selfless Italians who risked their very lives to help him remain free. He had a close call once when he woke from a snooze in the sun on a remote hillside to find a German officer standing over him. As it happened, this man was no rabid Nazi, but an enthusiastic butterfly hunter who had, he said, “no intention of spoiling such a splendid day either for you or for myself.”
The lives of the peasants amongst whom Newby found shelter, high on the Pian dei Sotto, was very little changed from what it had been for hundreds of years, one imagines. This was inhospitable country; eking a living from it required a maximum of effort, resourcefulness and stoicism. When Newby returned some 12 years later, in 1956, he found that things had already changed dramatically: some of those he had known had died, some had moved away, and the focus of the area was turning from farming to tourism.
Part rousing adventure tale, part romance, part travelogue, this is a wonderful introduction to Newby’s writing. I really must read the travel books he went on to write after the war. In fact, I don’t know why I haven’t done so long before now.
Newby was a young POW in Italy during WWII. He was able to escape in 1943 while hospitalized for a broken ankle. With the help of sympathetic locals, one of whom was later to become his wife, he spent a year in hiding, being recaptured only late in 1944.
Newby tells his story with a charming, self-deprecating humor that emphasizes how inept he was at the time, how unprepared he was for the rigors of life as a fugitive. The worst that would befall him if recaptured, however, was a return to some POW camp. His constant concern was for the welfare of the many selfless Italians who risked their very lives to help him remain free. He had a close call once when he woke from a snooze in the sun on a remote hillside to find a German officer standing over him. As it happened, this man was no rabid Nazi, but an enthusiastic butterfly hunter who had, he said, “no intention of spoiling such a splendid day either for you or for myself.”
The lives of the peasants amongst whom Newby found shelter, high on the Pian dei Sotto, was very little changed from what it had been for hundreds of years, one imagines. This was inhospitable country; eking a living from it required a maximum of effort, resourcefulness and stoicism. When Newby returned some 12 years later, in 1956, he found that things had already changed dramatically: some of those he had known had died, some had moved away, and the focus of the area was turning from farming to tourism.
Part rousing adventure tale, part romance, part travelogue, this is a wonderful introduction to Newby’s writing. I really must read the travel books he went on to write after the war. In fact, I don’t know why I haven’t done so long before now.
September 1, 2014
I have just reread this some years after I first discovered it, and was surprised to find how much of the story came as a surprise to me as I had forgotten all but the barest outline of the story.
Newby has a great gift for storytelling and this one, his own experience as a prisoner of war and then escapee in Italy from 1942 to 1944 is remarkable, the stuff of true adventure stories and told with considerable modesty and with warm, deep gratitude to the mountain people who enabled him, and others like him, to survive the German occupation of Italy.
I have lowered the star rating from 5 to 4 on this re-read, because some sections of the prose lose me in long, compound sentences. But it is a memorable book.
Newby has a great gift for storytelling and this one, his own experience as a prisoner of war and then escapee in Italy from 1942 to 1944 is remarkable, the stuff of true adventure stories and told with considerable modesty and with warm, deep gratitude to the mountain people who enabled him, and others like him, to survive the German occupation of Italy.
I have lowered the star rating from 5 to 4 on this re-read, because some sections of the prose lose me in long, compound sentences. But it is a memorable book.
June 13, 2011
His chapter on "an encounter with a member of the master race" (a German lepidopterist assigned to teach Renaissance culture to men bent on destroying it) was humane, funny, and as powerful an indictment of the absurdity of war as anything I've ever read.
January 17, 2021
Very enjoyable on the whole, I was disappointed with the ending (yes I know there was an epilogue) as it was very abrupt.
But still a good read.
But still a good read.
November 16, 2021
A bit of love, a bit of war, a lot of carrying big stones. Fantastic. Charming.
August 12, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. It's basically a memoir about Newby being a fugitive in Italy towards the end of the second world war.
It isn't about him being a hero, he tells the tale with humour, honesty and empathy. It's fascinating as a sortof alternative narrative to what you think of in war - rather than it being us and them, he's being sheltered and looked after by the locals in a recently fascist country which is occupied by the Nazis. There isn't a lot of grandstanding by anyone and the reasons for them doing it are often explored and are fairly varied.
It's also a view into a way of life in the Appenine mountain range that probably disappeared shortly afterwards. We meet a lot of characters as he gets bounced from house to house.
For me I'd also read "A short walk in the Hindu Kush" and whilst I enjoyed that, this is better although similar in style. Newby's self deprecating style and sardonic humour really works well in this setting and the gravity of the situation contrasts really well with that, although he never feels flippant - it's clearly just his character to see the funny side of things.
The book covers Newby's involvement in (mild spoiler). All of these things weren't what you might expect and don't fit with the traditional Hollywood narrative of WW2. It all rings true and I found the different portions fascinating to read. The book will also have you salivating over some delicious sounding Italian peasant food!
It isn't about him being a hero, he tells the tale with humour, honesty and empathy. It's fascinating as a sortof alternative narrative to what you think of in war - rather than it being us and them, he's being sheltered and looked after by the locals in a recently fascist country which is occupied by the Nazis. There isn't a lot of grandstanding by anyone and the reasons for them doing it are often explored and are fairly varied.
It's also a view into a way of life in the Appenine mountain range that probably disappeared shortly afterwards. We meet a lot of characters as he gets bounced from house to house.
For me I'd also read "A short walk in the Hindu Kush" and whilst I enjoyed that, this is better although similar in style. Newby's self deprecating style and sardonic humour really works well in this setting and the gravity of the situation contrasts really well with that, although he never feels flippant - it's clearly just his character to see the funny side of things.
The book covers Newby's involvement in (mild spoiler). All of these things weren't what you might expect and don't fit with the traditional Hollywood narrative of WW2. It all rings true and I found the different portions fascinating to read. The book will also have you salivating over some delicious sounding Italian peasant food!
June 15, 2025
Gripping and incredibly heartwarming, gorgeous to read and incredibly vivid imagery of the Apennines. The sort of story which was fairly commonplace at the time but utterly stupefying to read about now.
August 9, 2019
This was given to me by a dear friend, who always pushes me out of my comfort zone. I loved this book and the wit/humor of the author. I will read more of his.
October 1, 2025
As delightfully written as the others I have read so far, leave me very much looking forward to the next one, and spending a little more time in the world as Newby saw it
February 9, 2021
My brother gave me this book for Xmas with a note: "I know you don't like war books, but this is more about love than war and I think you'll like it". He was right. It is a marvellous book, more of a well-deserved and loving tribute to the brave Italians who sheltered Eric Newby, than a focus on himself as an escaped POW, or the details of war in Italy in 1943. I don't know how Newby manages to give such a light, sometimes amusing, touch to serious privations, hardship and fear without being annoying. His writing is just delightful - very British - again somehow without being annoying.
Life in the Appenines was already hard enough for the inhabitants, and the risks they took to help a fugitive were truly heroic. I was quite happy to know that some of the Italians were "composite characters" and even happier that the love story had a real-life happy ending. I enjoyed my re-acquaintance with Eric Newby and now plan to re-read "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" and forage further in his work.
Life in the Appenines was already hard enough for the inhabitants, and the risks they took to help a fugitive were truly heroic. I was quite happy to know that some of the Italians were "composite characters" and even happier that the love story had a real-life happy ending. I enjoyed my re-acquaintance with Eric Newby and now plan to re-read "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" and forage further in his work.
April 25, 2021
Loved it , know Italy well and the Italian character rings true as it is portrayed here during the Paura of War. from what I've heard from other witness's, who I have known who, lived through this time .
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